Before We Say Something We'll Regret
by GreenLily474
Summary: This takes place between The Courtship of Wyatt's Father and Hyde School Reunion. Chris wants to open up to his mother and aunts but has to live with the issue of Future Consequences. Phoebe wants to find the father of the child she saw in her vision ques
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed, I just like it._

Author's Note. I'm very Scatter-Brained at the moment, I have a lot of what I call gap-fics in my head and I'm working on them bit by bit.

Summary: This takes place between The Courtship of Wyatt's Father and Hyde School Reunion. Chris wants to open up to his mother and aunts but has to live with the issue of Future Consequences. Phoebe wants to find the father of the child she saw in her vision quest, but has lost sight of what love is all about. Piper wants Leo back in her life, but he's an Elder now and she fears being selfish. Paige wants to find her Raison D'etre, but can't leave her family in their time of need.

Chapter One  
"Victor Bennet," Piper heard her father's voice on the other end of the phone.

"Hey, Dad, how's it going?" asked Piper.

"Good, we're funding the restoration of an older town in West Virginia. There's a lot of history here. It's a great investment. They want me to oversee it."

"Wow, that sounds great...So you're going to be there a while?"

"At least a couple months, this place needs a lot of work---are you alright, honey?"

"I'm fine, Dad. It's just a little cold."

"Are you sure? You know you can talk to me if anything's bothering you."

"I know. Listen; just let me know when you're back in town. We'll have lunch. You should see Wyatt. He's getting so big."

"Sounds good. I meant what I said, Piper, if there's ever anything you need to talk about, I'm here for you."

"I know that, Dad. I love you."

"I love you too, honey."

Piper hung up the phone. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and looked down at her stomach. It had been four months since she'd last seen Leo. She knew that if she called his name, he'd be there in a heartbeat. She just couldn't bring herself to do that to him.

"Why didn't you tell you father about Chris?" asked Paige, breaking Piper out of her reverie. She sat next to Piper on the bed.

"He's in the middle of a huge business deal, I don't want to bother him."

"I realize that I've only known Victor for a couple years, but he just doesn't strike me as the type who would mind his daughter needing to talk to him. From what I can tell, you're a lot more important to him than any business deal. Correct me if I'm wrong here."

"I can't just tell my father something this huge and complicated over the phone," said Piper.

"So why don't you tell him you need to talk to him face to face? I'm sure he'll be more than happy to take a few days off and come out here."

"I just don't want to bother him with my-well abnormal problems. He has a lot to deal with right now."

"Hmmph," said Paige. Now I know where Chris gets it from."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Piper demanded.

"He never wants to 'bother' anyone with his problems either. What both of you need to realize is that family members are there for each other. Asking for help or talking to someone does not equate bothering them." 

"I agree," Piper sighed. "So why has Chris always felt he can't talk to us about anything? Why didn't he just tell me he was my son? Why couldn't he say that the reason he couldn't heal was because he was only half Whitelighter? Why couldn't he just say that he was protecting why from turning..."

Paige pulled her sister into a hug. "He had to get our trust before he could tell us about Wyatt. I mean c'mon, you probably would have blown him up if that had been the first thing out of his mouth. An if he'd told you who he was, it would have given you and Leo a massive case of performance anxiety."

Piper snorted into Paige's shoulder at the last comment. "Sorry," she said. Paige grabbed a tissue and laughed as she wiped her sweater. "I just know that Chris is going through a difficult time right now and he won't open up to me. He refuses everything I try to give. He won't even move into the manor!"

Paige sighed and stared at her feet.

"You know something," said Piper. It was a statement more than a question. Paige lifted her eyes to meet her sister's.

"Well, it's more like I understand something. Chris doesn't feel like he has the right to move into the manor or accept family related help."

Why would he feel that way? I mean he grew up in this house, he's my son for God's sake!"

"Piper, he didn't grow up in this time. He had to pretend he was someone else for several months. Although he hasn't outright said it, I know what he's going through. I went through the same thing. It took me almost two years to feel like I belonged here. It's not anyone's fault," said Paige as Piper suddenly looked like she was feeling very guilty about Paige's early days as a witch. "It's just the way things were. I didn't grow up here with the rest of you, I was three years behind you and Phoebe in the craft, and you were mourning Prue. I just hadn't been through everything with you, so I didn't understand a lot of things."

"I'm sorry about all that, Paige. We really did push a lot of rules on you. How did you come to feel like you belonged here?"

"I just went though a lot of things with my sisters," said Paige with a smile.

"Chris keeps disappearing every time I try to talk to him. He so damn stubborn. How are we supposed to help him feel like he really is part of this family when he's always so help bent on talking about anything not directly related to keeping demons away from Wyatt?"

"You're just going to have to be more stubborn than he is," Paige answered matter-of-factly.

_Four Months Earlier  
_The words 'You've been given a second chance, don't waist it' echoed in Chris's head. He had no intention of waiting his second chance. He was determined to use it to give his brother and the entire world that same second chance. That meant getting right back to work on finding whatever evil had turned Wyatt. Chris knew that if only he could stop that his brother would be good and thus do a lot of good for others. He orbed to the Manor to talk to the sisters and Leo about the next demons.

Chris reflected on the relationship he'd developed with his father over the past few months. Sure things had started out rough. What with him sending Leo to Valhalla and Leo beating the crap out of him, nearly killing him with a sword and threatening to have his soul recycled over it. Chris let himself laugh at that thought. After nearly ceasing to exist, things just seemed funny. Despite all that, Leo had been able to set aside his distrust. He had been determined to help Chris when Bianca had been sent by Wyatt to forcefully take Chris back to the future. He had also been the only person to continue trusting him after the order had kidnapped Wyatt. For the first time in a long time, Chris allowed himself to have hope for a relationship with his father. Heck, it was the first time in years he'd consciously admitted that he wanted a relationship with Leo.

Chris sensed that his mother and aunts were at the Manor in Piper's room. He decided to orb into the hallway and knock, as per the unspoken rules. The Charmed One's looked like they were talking about something very important.

"Is this a bad time?" he asked.

Chris felt the bottom drop out of his stomach as his mother turned and stared at him as though she'd never seen him before. Phoebe and Paige smiled at him encouragingly. _Oh God, they told her, _Chris thought. He suddenly had the desire to orb the hell out of there. 

"Sorry, I'll come back later!"

"Chris, wait!" said Piper running over to him and grabbing his arm before he could Orb away. "It's okay, we were just talking about you." She led him over to a chair and sat him down. The was an awkward silence. Chris nervously fidgeted with a button on his shirt as all eyes were one him.

"That color really brings out your eyes," said Piper beginning to smile warmly at her newly discovered son. Chris hadn't seen his mother look at him that way in years, not since right before her death. He felt a mixture of relief and sadness wash over him. Piper knew the truth and she wasn't rejecting him.

"Um, where's Leo?" he asked hopefully. Piper stopped smiling.

"He went Up There to join the other Elders."

"What!?" asked Chris, trying to hide the outrage in his voice. "He just left you? Left Wyatt?"

"He had to go. As long as he was on earth, he was putting the other elders as risk, us too. He couldn't keep doing that.

"I have to get to work on the next demon," said Chris quickly standing up.

"Chris, what's wrong?" asked Piper.

"Nothing," Chris lied as he started backing toward the door. "I just have to find out who's after Wyatt."

"Can the next demon wait till after lunch?" asked Piper. "We've obviously got a lot to talk about."

"We've already lost a lot of time with--," Chris was about to say 'trying to get me conceived, but stopped himself. "--well headless horsemen, genies and darklighters. I've got a lot of catching up to do."

"Alright," said Piper. "Let's compromise. You hit the book of shadows while I get lunch ready. I'm not taking no for an answer, young man."

"Yeah, sure," said Chris. "See you in a bit."

He orbed to the Golden Gate Bridge, fell to his knees, buried his face in his hands, and started sobbing. He had really screwed things up. Leo may not have been the world's greatest father to him, but at least he'd always been there for Piper and Wyatt. Chris kicked himself. He just had to go and make things worse for his family. Somehow he had to keep himself from changing anything else for the worse. 


	2. Chapter 2

"Chris!" Phoebe called. No answer. "What's taking him so long. He can't be THAT engrossed in the Book of Shadows," she said irritably.

"Maybe we should try actually going to the attic and telling him in person that lunch is ready," Paige suggested. "He's our nephew, not our dog after all." She orbed to the attic to get Chris.

Piper looked down at her hands guiltily. "This is going to take some getting used to," she said.

"Of course it is," said Phoebe. "You'll do fine."

"At least everything that's been happening makes perfect sense now." A tear trickled down Piper's cheek.

"You miss Leo, don't you? Why don't you tell him? You shouldn't have to raise two sons by yourself. He'd never want that."

"I want Leo back here more than anything. But he's an Elder now and I can't be selfish, I've been selfish for too long about this."

"Chris?" Paige called as she headed up the stairs toward the attic. "Chris, lunch is ready." No answer. Paige felt nervous as she entered the attic. What if there had been a demon attack and Chris was injured? She looked at the Book of Shadows and saw a note. As she opened it to read it, she noticed that it was in Chris's handwriting.

_Went to follow a lead in the underworld. Not sure when I'll be back, Sorry._

"Where's Chris?" asked Piper. Paige showed her the note. "Oh."

"You know Chris," Paige said trying to sound reassuring. "When he's trying to protect Wyatt, he's got to take care of it now."

"Yeah," said Piper. "But why didn't he ask for our help."

"He probably just wants to see what where up against before he sends us after the next demon."

"I suppose your right," Piper sighed.

"I have an idea," said Phoebe. "I'm going shopping for my date tonight--"

"When did you have time to get a date?" asked Paige thinking of everything they'd been doing the past few weeks trying to save their younger nephew's existence.

"I made the time. I have to find the father of the baby in my vision, don't I?" said Phoebe as though stating the obvious. Paige felt a small stab of annoyance. Just yesterday, Phoebe had been ready to give up on Chris, their nephew who had risked everything and gone through hell to save his family and she'd been looking for a date in the middle of trying to save him as well as Piper and Leo. "What?" Phoebe asked Paige, sensing that she was annoyed about something.

"Nothing," Paige lied. "I just miss Richard."

"Oh, anyway Piper," Phoebe continued. "Maybe you should come with me and pick Chris up some clothes. He could use some. All that demon hunting he does has really taken a toll on his wardrobe."

"Alright," Piper agreed. "I'll get Wyatt." She really didn't feel like shopping, but it was something to take her mind off Leo.  
-----------------------------------

Chris orbed into his mother's office in the back of P3 and collapsed onto the couch. His entire body ached and he was completely exhausted. He hadn't slept in nearly two days, ceasing to exist for several hours were not the same as getting rest. _I'll just lie here a few minutes,_ he thought to himself as the noises of the band setting up for the night drifted into the office. Someone knocked on the door.

"Go away," Chris groaned into the pillow.

"Piper, are you in there?" Dennis asked. He opened the door slightly and peered in. "Chris?" he gasped. "What happened to you?"

"Same old, same old." Chris replied dryly with a crooked smile. "I pissed off a few bad guys, they tried to kill me."

"This doesn't look like anything to joke about," said Dennis. "I'd better call you a doctor." He headed for the phone on Piper's desk.

"Don't!" Chris pleaded. "It's no big deal, really. I just need to clean up and get a little rest."

Dennis looked at him skeptically. "Alright, but you should at least tell Piper what happened."

"I will, don't worry," Chris did his best to put on a reassuring smile. Dennis left the office to finish setting up for the band. _So much for a quick nap, _Chris thought to himself. He was tempted to go to the manor and fall asleep on the living room couch. Part of him wanted to tell his mother he was hurt and let her doctor up his wounds like she had done when he was young. Another part of him still felt angry and resentful that she has told him she never wanted to see him again not so long ago. Granted he had been trying to manipulate them with little explanation for his motives, but hadn't he shown them that he was good? Chris couldn't help but feel angry and resentful that his own mother and aunts had sent him on several missions to the underworld just because they didn't want him around. The thought that Piper would suddenly want to be a mother to him scared him after everything that had happened in the past few months. The thought that he could screw in future in even worse ways terrified him.

Chris walked over to the bathroom sink and began washing his face. He pulled off his shirt and looked at his wounds. Nothing too serious. He'd had far worse in his life. As he finished changing into clean cloths Paige orbed in.

"How'd that lead pan out?" she asked. "Find any demons you need the Power of Three to vanquish." Chris shrugged. "You look exhausted." She commented.

"I'm fine," he answered. "Listen, I have a few ideas about who may be after Wyatt."

"Can it wait? I mean we just saved your very existence. Take a break, relax a little you've earned it."

Chris shook his head. "It's already waited too long. Wyatt's in danger and I have to save him. Now are Piper and Phoebe at the manor? We really need to come up with a plan on finding the next demon."

Paige decided to relent to her nephew's obstinence for the time being. "They should be back any moment. Why don't we orb over there and meet them?"

Chris nodded and grabbed her hand as they orbed out.

"I'm going to take a quick shower, Aaron's going to be here in an hour," said Phoebe.

"Aaron?" asked Piper.

"Yes, I'm going in alphabetical order. That way I won't miss out on finding the father of my baby." Phoebe waived and headed up stairs.

Piper shook her head as she watched her sister leave. She took Wyatt out of his stroller and placed him gently in his playpen. Her mind drifted to five years earlier when she, Prue, and Phoebe had traveled back to 1975 and Grams, thinking they were Warlocks had blasted the three of them out the front door. She smiled as she thought of the moment they had revealed their identities to their mother. She looked so happy, so proud of the women they had become. Piper now knew out her mother had felt. All the suspicion and anger Piper had felt toward Chris in the past few months had vanished in a heartbeat. It was replaced by pride in the man he had become and worried for his safety in all the dangerous missions he tended to go on. In that moment, Piper wanted nothing more than to give her younger son the happy life he deserved.

The sound of orbs shook Piper from her train of thought. "Hey you two," she beamed at Paige and Chris.

"Hey," said Chris awkwardly. "Listen, I have a couple theories about who's after Wyatt I wanted to discuss with the three of you. Where's Phoebe?"

"She's taking a shower," Piper answered. She pulled a navy blue sweater she'd bought for him out of the shopping bag, walked over to him and held it up to him. "I knew this would look nice on you," she said with a smile.

"Huh?" said Chris taken by surprise.

"I thought you could use some nice clothes," said Piper.

"Look, that's really not necessary," he said gently pushing the sweater away.

"How about 'Thank You," said Phoebe entering the kitchen. "Your mother was trying to do something nice for you. A little gratitude wouldn't kill you."

Chris glared at her and rolled his eyes. Phoebe was the last person in the world he wanted a lesson on manners from at that moment. "Can we _please_ focus on finding whoever is after Wyatt?"

"I've been thinking Chris," Piper interrupted. "I want you to move into the manor. The back room at P3 really isn't a great place to sleep."

Chris opened his mouth to answer but the words didn't come. All he could do was shake his head.

"Don't be ridiculous, sweetie," said Piper. Chris closed his eyes at the term of endearment. "I can't have you living there now." Chris's eyes snapped open. They had become glassy.

"If it's been good enough since the day I got here, why isn't it good enough now?" he demanded angrily and orbed out leaving three very stunned sisters staring at the spot he'd been moments before.

---------------------------------------------------------------------- 


	3. Chapter 3

Piper tossed and turned. She looked over at her alarm clock. 3:57. Piper groaned._ Who needs sleep,_ She thought dryly.

She got out of bed and walked over to the nursery. Wyatt was sleeping peacefully. Piper smiled. In about nine months she'd look in to see baby Chris sleeping peacefully, well maybe not _peacefully._ It took Wyatt about six moths before he was sleeping through the night. 

Piper looked up as she heard the faint sound of feet in the attic._ Chris,_ she thought. _I need to have a little chat with that son of mine. _She headed up toward the attic.

Chris sat on the wooden floor telekinetically flipping through the pages of the Book of Shadows. Frustration etched in his features.

"Chris," said Piper softly. Chris jumped slightly and looked up. He quickly stood up as he saw his mother.

"Piper!" he said. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"Don't worry, I was already awake." She point to Aunt Pearl's couch. "Sit."

Chris hesitated for a minute. He stared at the old couch in contemplation then back at his mother. Seeing the determined expression on her face he decided it best to sit. Piper sat next to him and put her hand on his arm. She felt him tense at her touch and reluctantly withdrew it. He stared at his feet, refusing to meet her gaze.

"I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am for--well everything."

"It's alright, you didn't know who I was," said Chris.

"I knew that you were someone trying to save my son," said Piper. Chris merely shrugged. "Look Chris, I know that something's really bothering you and I want to help."

"It doesn't matter," said Chris.

"You say that a lot," said Piper. _Leo used to say that a lot, and whenever he said it, it usually mattered a lot. _"And it most certainly does matter."

"I can't talk about my issues," said Chris, "Future consequences." Perhaps it was losing Leo, perhaps it was lack of sleep, or perhaps it was pregnancy symptoms kicking in early. She'd grown to really hate the phrase.

"Chris, would you cut the future consequences crap! Enough is enough!" Piper regretted those words the moment she'd spoken them. "Chris I--"

Chris quickly stood up and looked at Piper. His eyes filled with pain. "Look, I know this must be frustrating for you and I'm sorry for that. But future consequences are very real and I have to make sure I don't screw everything up." He orbed out.

"Admit!" said Piper. She buried her face in her hands.

---------------------------------------------

Seven weeks. It had been seven weeks since Piper had learned she had another son. Seven weeks since she'd lost Leo to Elder land. Seven weeks and still no progress in her relationship with Chris. He never spoke unless the subject matter was vanquishing a demon that might be after Wyatt. He spent most of his time under cover in the under world. He always tried to go into the manor when the sisters were out or asleep. He seemed very subdued.

"How'd it go at the doctor's?" asked Phoebe.

"Everything's normal," Piper replied. She held up a picture of her ultrasound. "So far so good."

"Have you spoken to his adult form?" asked Phoebe pointing to the picture.

"He's still determined to avoid me."

"Want me to kick his ass for you?" asked Phoebe.

"That might be considered child abuse," said Piper. "And I'd really prefer that you not even joke about kicking my baby's ass, please."

"Alright," Phoebe relented. "I realize he needed a little time to sulk and all, but this is getting ridiculous."

"No," said Piper. "We have no idea what his life's been like. Who are we to say what's ridiculous when it comes to something like this." 

Phoebe let out a frustrated sign. The empathy-blocking potion her sisters and nephews had taken several months ago was starting to wear off. She had to do something about it, her family was giving her a constant migraine. "I have to get ready for my date," she said.

"David?" asked Piper as she say on her bed.

"Actually, it's Donny tonight."

"Have fun," said Piper as Phoebe closed the door. She decided to lay down and see if she could actually get some sleep.

"Paige, orb me to P3. It's time we talked to sense into that nephew of ours," said Phoebe.

"You think he's there?" asked Paige.

"I know he's there, I just scried for him. C'mon."

Paige took her sister's hand and orbed them to P3. When they got there, they saw Chris in the office working on several astrology charts. He looked up as he heard the sound of their orbing.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Are Piper and Wyatt alright?"

"Their fine, Chris, don't worry," said Paige. Chris breathed a sigh of relief.

"You'd know that if you spoke to your mother once in a while," said Phoebe.

"I don't have time for this," said Chris.

"You're going to have to make time," said Phoebe. "You have to talk to your mother. You can't keep avoiding her."

"I can't," said Chris. "Would you please drop it?"

"No," said Phoebe. "We busted our asses trying to save your existence and all you've done since then is sit around feeling sorry for yourself. Get over it and show a little gratitude!"

"Phoebe!" said Paige, her temper starting to rise. "Back off! He's been through a lot."

"Excuse me," said Chris angrily. "Paige busted her ass trying to save me. You, on the other hand didn't give a rat's ass whether I ceased to exist or not."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Phoebe demanded.

"Well, let's see, you didn't want to help me get my parents back together because you figured that everything I'd done since I got here was me messing with people's lives because my older brother picked on me."

"Chris, I didn't mean that," Phoebe tried to justify.

"It's alright," said Chris sarcastically. "It's was my fault for having the gall to ask you to keep a secret. That must have been the most difficult thing you ever had to do in your life!" His family members had said a lot of hurtful things to him, but Phoebe's attitude toward him after she'd discovered his identity had been the most hurtful.

"Chris, don't be a smart ass. You have issues you seriously need to work through and I have a date."

Paige felt her blood boil at those words. She remembered the year before when she'd given Cole a power stripping potion and Phoebe kept yelling at her for it, not because the powers had gone top Barbas, but because she'd interrupted Phoebe's date.

"Well shame on Chris for not realized that the world revolves around your dates," Paige spat angrily. Phoebe and Chris gaped at her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Phoebe demanded.

"Look," said Paige taking a calming breath. "Why don't you just go on your date? I'll stay here and help Chris work on the next demon. We're not getting anywhere with this conversation." 

Phoebe looked from her sister to her nephew. "Fine!" she said and left the club.

Paige turned to Chris. "Sorry about that." He shrugged.

"Doesn't matter," he said.

"You matter," said Paige. "You're not alone anymore, you know. You can talk to us about anything that's bothering you. We love you."

"I wish I could. Do you honestly think I want to go through this alone? I can't risk screwing up the future because I've got issues."

"Alright," said Paige. "So why not try speaking in generalities? (is that a real word?) Like do you hate you mother or something? Is she a terrible mother to you in the future?"

"Of course I don't hate her."

"Then why won't you talk to her?"

"It's complicated."

"How 'bout the Cliff's notes version?"

Chris stared at Paige thoughtfully for a moment. Paige had always been the aunt he felt comfortable talking to in the future. Phoebe may have given great advice to her readers, but she had a tendency to get impatient with her family when they had problems. "I still have to worry about future consequences."

"What do mean?" Paige asked. Chris sighed.

"I lied to you about the Titans. You didn't really die that day in my future."

"Why did you lie about that?" asked Paige.

"Well, first of all, it was a good moment for me to get in and be assigned as your Whitelighter. Second, if I'd told you that you'd managed to defeat the Titans you may not have done what you had to do to defeat them."

"That's reasonable," said Paige.

"It's not that I want to shut my mother out, it's just that I've spent the past several months pretending to be someone else. I had to keep my emotions in check and my true identity a secret. I can't just turn that off. If I open up, that annoying little thing known as future consequences could become a harsh reality.

"I never wanted to tell you that Wyatt's evil in my future," Chris continued as Paige nodded. "I always hoped I'd never have to."

"Why?" asked Paige, though she had an idea what the answer was.

"Well there was the issue of possibly losing your trust, but I was also afraid that knowing what Wyatt would become, it may have affected the way everyone treated him. If that makes sense."

"I think so," said Paige. She walked up to him and gave him a hug. He didn't pull away or tense up. After a few moments he went so far as to return the hug.

"It's strange," said Chris. "No one wants to think about their parents having sex and there I was putting all my energy trying to make it happen. That's just strange."

Paige laughed. "Oh well, stranger things have happened."

"Yeah," Chris replied barely above a whisper. "Listen, Paige."

"What?" she asked, expecting a long winded lecture about future consequences.

"Thanks." 


	4. Chapter 4

"You seem to be in a good mood," said Paige as Piper laid Wyatt down in his playpen.

"My first trimester's finally over," said Piper. "That's a very good thing, I may as well be happy about it It's good to finally wake up to something other than vomiting. So are you and Phoebe speaking yet?"

"We're being civil," said Paige. "I think she's still really pissed at me, and to be honest, I'm slightly pissed at her."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Look, I love Phoebe, really do. She just seems to have difficulty being patient and understanding with people when there isn't an easy solution to their problems. She's been taking her gift for helping people for granted since she became an empath, ya know?"

"I've noticed. She's had difficulty with patience from time to time her entire life."

"Have you spoken to Chris at all lately?" asked Paige changing the subject.

"I think I'm actually making progress," said Piper smiling a little. "I'm trying a new strategy."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, well I can take a hint. I mean after everything that happened with the order, Chris wasn't exactly my favorite person, and I didn't exactly keep that to myself. I can't just expect him to turn off all those feelings even if I didn't know who he was. I'm trying a transitional period You know, trying to learn more about him rather than trying to force him to tell me what's bothering me."

"That may actually work, he tends to be a little guarded, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, hopefully a day will come when he doesn't feel that way."

"Have you thought about calling Leo yet?"

"I think about it all the time, but I can't. Like it or not, he is an Elder and his place is Up There now."

"I suppose, but it just doesn't seem right," said Paige.

"No, but we have to look at the bigger picture, who would do a better job than Leo at protecting the Greater Good."

"Whatever that is," Paige mutter.

The doorbell rang. "Who could that be?" asked Piper.

"Maybe Darryl or Sheila?" Paige suggested. Piper walked to the door and opened it. As she saw who it was, she got a strange feeling, as though her morning sickness had come back.

"Dan? What are you doing here?"

"Piper," Dan smiled. It was the same smiled Piper remembered from four years earlier, but now it just seemed so...cardboard. "I'm in town for a while on a construction job and decided to come see you. I thought we could have lunch or something." He noticed Paige. "Hello," he said. "I'm Dan Gordon."

"Paige Matthews, Piper's long lost sister," said Paige reaching out and shaking his hand.

"Long lost sister? Really?" said Dan raising his eyebrows.

"Yep, it's a long story, said Piper, but I'm glad we found her.

"I'd love to hear it," said Dan flashing his cardboard smile. "Sounds like we've got a lot of catching up to do. What do you say?"

"Um, alright," said Piper, wanting to say no but not knowing how to do it politely. The next thing they knew Chris was running down the stairs.

"Hey, I just figured out a strategy for the next demon---stration," he said as noticed Dan. He had to force himself not to scowl. He recognized Dan from his old baseball encyclopedia. He knew that his mother had once dated him in a "desperate attempt to make herself get over Leo. From what his parents told Chris, Dan was a very nosy person who tried to like Piper for the person he wanted her to be rather than who she really was.

"Hi," said Dan. "Dan Gordon--"

"Yeah, you used to play for the Mariners," said Chris.

"Yep, and you are?"

"Chris Perry."

"Nice to meet you Chris," said Dan sticking out his hand.

"Oh sorry," said Chris. "I just sneezed on my hand, got boogers and snot all over it and I haven't had a change to wash them yet."

Paige pretended to cough as she had a slight fit of laughter. While Piper bit hard on her lip. "There must be something going around," said Paige.

"Yeah, while don't you call me later for lunch," said Piper to Dan as she quickly closed the door.

"So that's Dan," said Paige.

"Yep the one and only."

"No offense, sis, but he's kinda boring."

"Kinda?" said Chris. "He's about as interesting as a yawn." Piper smiled.

"You're telling me. I can't believe I actually dated him. What the hell was I thinking. Same goes for Greg. If I ever talk about wanting a normal relationship again, please kick my ass."

"So why did you agree to have lunch with him?" asked Paige. Piper shrugged.

"I couldn't think of a nice way to say no. I'll just grin and bear it and if he annoys me, I'll tell him what I really think of him. Anyway, Chris, how bout that demon? I need something interesting to do."

In Chris allowed himself to smile in spite of his reservations.

"So what's with that Chris kid?" asked Dan.

"Well, let's just say he's not from around here," said Piper taking a sip from her water.

"How long have you known him?"

"Long enough," said Piper.

"I see," said Dan.

"You see what?" asked Piper.

"I'm just worried about you, that's all," said Dan.

"Well don't be," said Piper shortly. 

"You've got some kid from out of town wondering freely around your house and living in your club, Piper."

"Really? I hadn't noticed."

"And there's no logical explanation for him being there."

"There's nothing that needs explaining Dan," said Piper through gritted teeth.

"It just seems very similar to the situation with Leo. I heard about you two splitting up. He left you to raise a baby all by yourself."

Piper stood up angrily and threw down her napkin. "Dan you know nothing about Leo and have no right to judge him. The same goes for Chris. You have no right to show up after all these years and make a bunch of assumptions about my life based on whatever rumors you've been hearing."

"Piper, I care about you. Was in love with you, for God's sake."

"No Dan, you weren't in love with me. You didn't even know me and you obviously still don't!"

With that Piper hurried out of the restaurant.

"Lamp!" shouted Paige, orbing the lamp to the Groth Demon who shimmered out of the way and rematerialized on the other end of the room. It caught Chris off guard and hit him with an energy ball before he could orb out of the way just as Piper enter the room. Fortunately her reflexes were quick and she was able to freeze it before it noticed her.

"Were you trying to get information out of that thing?" asked Piper.

"Nope, said Paige. "We just wanted to Vanquish its sorry ass."

"Oakie dokie." Piper flicked her wrists and blew up the Groth Demon. She noticed that Chris was bleeding profusely from his should as he tried to hoist himself up onto Aunt Pearl's couch. "Oh my God, Chris!" Piper and Paige ran over to him to help him up. Out of instinct Piper started to call for help "Le--"

"Don't call for him, please!" Chris begged.

"You need healing, Chris," said Paige.

"Then take me to Magic School. Gideon can heal me." Paige gave him a questioning look. "Listen this isn't a life or death situation. If Leo comes down here, he puts himself and the other Elders in danger."

"Alright," said Piper. "Hold on, I'll get Wyatt." Paige nodded. Piper ran downstairs to grab Wyatt. When she returned Paige orbed the four of them to Magic School.

"Sigmund, where's Gideon? Chris is hurt," said Piper.

"He's teaching a class, I'll get him," said Sigmund eying Chris's shoulder. He hurried down the hall.

Piper sat Wyatt on the floor and took Chris's arm. "C'mon Sweetie, you need to sit down."

"It's not a big deal," Chris weakly protested giving little resistance to being led to the couch. "Gideon will be here any second to heal me."

"Yeah, well I'm not sure how long he'll take. He could be in the middle of leading a meditation for all we know. I'd rather keep you from passing out."

"Towel!" called Paige orbbing a towel to her and applying to Chris's wound. 

"Good thinking Paige," said Piper. "I'm going to get some soap and water." She hurried to the bathroom and came out with a bucket filled with soapy water. Paige pulled the towel away while Piper began cleaning the wound. Chris, feeling dizzily relented and rested his head on the back of the couch.

"So, how was your date with Bland Dan?" asked Paige deciding to make conversation. Piper chuckled at the nickname.

"It wasn't a date," said Piper. "It was Dan not minding his own damn business and giving me the third degree about rumors he'd heard."

"Did you tell him to shove off?" asked Paige.

"Pretty much, yeah. I hope he got the hint."

"What happened?" asked Gideon as he entered the room.

"Groth demon. Nasty bugger, we vanquished him and Chris needs healing," said Paige.

Gideon rushed over to Chris and heeled his shoulder. No one noticed the look he gave Wyatt as he passed the toddler.

"Thanks," said Chris.

"Don't mention it," said Gideon. 

"How are you feeling?" Piper asked Chris.

"Fine," said Chris. "Paige we really outta finish that spell for the Brak Demon."

"You can finish it after you've had some rest," said Piper.

"But--" Chris began.

"No buts, young man," said Piper with a steely note. "You won't be able to save Wyatt if you make yourself sick," she continued deciding to appeal to her son's sense of duty. "You can either stay here in the infirmary or we can go back to the manor, but you're getting at least a few hours of sleep."

Chris groaned and folded his arms across his chest. He decided it was best not to argue. He'd had too much experience with that in the future. He's put up many a fight with his mother as a child whenever she tried to get him to rest when he was sick or injured. There had been times in the years following her death that Chris longed to have her push him to get some rest, but trying to argue again would bring back too many painful issues.

"Glad you agree," said Piper. "C'mon, Paige, let's get home. Thanks again for your help, Gideon."

Gideon nodded and smiled as the four Haliwells orbed back to the Manor.

"I can go back to P3 and sleep," said Chris in a last ditch attempt to avoid his mother taking care of him.

"It'll be too noisy. The All American Rejects are playing tonight and they'll be setting up and doing a sound check."

Chris sat on the couch as Paige ran to the linen closet and grabbed a pillow and a blanket. Piper took Wyatt up to the nursery while Chris stretched out on the couch and kicked off his shoes. Paige returned with a pillow and blanket and covered her nephew with it. She saw a faint sadness in his eyes, but decided not to ask him about it just yet.

"Go ahead and get some sleep," she whispered. "The sooner you get a decent nap, the sooner we can get to work on that vanquishing spell."

"There's some motivation," Chris muttered with a small smile as he closed his eyes.

"I've cast an anti-orbing spell," said Piper.

"Thanks for the trust," Chris muttered.

Piper sat in the kitchen going over her books for P3. She had been getting up every twenty minutes or so to check on Chris, who was sleeping surprisingly soundly.

"He must have been more tired than he let on," Paige whispered as she entered the kitchen.

"Maybe getting hit by an energy ball was a good thing," said Piper. "It forced him to get the sleep he needs."

"I'm home!" Phoebe called from the front door.

"Phoebe, shush!" Piper hissed urgently as she hurried out to the foyer.

"What?" asked Phoebe in an annoyed voice. Piper pointed to the couch where Chris stirred briefly. "Oh."

"He had to get hit by an energy ball to get any sleep," said Piper.

"Phoebe can we talk," asked Paige. Phoebe stared at her younger sister for a moment then followed her upstairs.

"Listen," said Paige. "I'm sorry about what I said."

"Hmmm," said Phoebe.

"It's just that sometimes you can be a little impatient with people."

"Excuse me?"

"That's what I mean," said Paige. "When you were getting angry and Chris and told him to get over it because you had a date I remembered the time I made the power stripping potion for Cole--"

"Paige you were being completely irresponsible."

"Yeah I got that. Shame on me for trying to help Cole before he hurt someone. But what you were really angry about was that I had interrupted your date."

"I really liked that guy."

"Did you like him enough to be so hurtful and hateful to your sister? I didn't need that then and Chris doesn't need that now. It's like you've forgotten what it's like to screw up or have a secret you can't tell your family."

Piper watched Chris silently to make sure he didn't wake up. She felt a burst of annoyance as she heard the doorbell rang. She had the overwhelming urge to blow-up whoever was on the porch. When she opened the door the urge increased tenfold.

"What do you want, Dan?" Piper asked stepping out onto the porch and closing the front door.

"I called my brother," he began.

"Not again," Piper groaned.

"And do you know what he found out about Chris Perry?" Dan continued ignoring Piper's irritation.

"He was killed in Korea?" asked Piper playing dumb.

"He doesn't exist," said Dan. "Who is that guy?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but he's family," said Piper shortly.

"Piper, this is just all so similar to what happened with Leo. I tried to warn you about him and look what happened. He left you to raise a baby all by yourself. And I know that you saw a doctor to get an ultrasound the other day. You aren't considering actually having the baby, are you?"

Inside, Chris started to wake up. He was disoriented for a moment. He knew that he was hearing some sort of argument.

"What do you mean, of course I'm having the baby, why wouldn't I?"

"Why would you want to have another one of that bastard's little spawn?"

"Excuse me, but whatever you think about Leo, this is my baby too. And don't you _dare_ talk about Leo that why. You know nothing about him. He's ten times the man you are."

"Really?" said Dan. "I didn't realize that someone who was ten times the man I am would knock you up and leave you. Don't you have any self respect?"

Chris began to feel his temperature rise.

"I have plenty of self respect, that's why I didn't settle for your sorry ass!" 


	5. Chapter 5

"Alright, Dan, I'm going to put this in simple terms that you'll understand: You suck, so just git on outta my house, beotch," said Piper. "Or I'll blow your sorry ass up."

"You're such a slut," said Dan. "How dare you choose Leo over me, I'm good at everything and I'm perfect. Don't you read the scripts?"

"Hey, you stupid douche, don't talk you my mom like that," said Chris bursting through the front door.

"Mind your own business you worthless little punk!" snapped Dan.

"Don't talk to my son like that, Dip-shit!" said Piper flicking her wrists and blasting his sorry ass across the porch.

"C'mon, Mom," said Chris, "Let's kick his ass. It'll be good for some mother-son bonding."

"Sound like a plan to me, sweetie."

"I love you, Mom."

"And I love you too."

Piper and Chris walked over to Dan and began to literally kick his ass. Chris aimed a particularly good kick at Dan's posterior orphas causing snot to fly out of his nose. Suddenly, Leo orbed in.

"Leo!" Piper exclaimed and she and Chris quickly ceased their Dan ass-kicking. Leo, as an Elder was more of a pacifist than ever. Dan was laying on the ground crying like the whiny little bitch he truly was.

"I sensed someone opening a can of whup-ass and decided to see what was happening," Leo explained.

"Leo, he had it coming, I swear," said Piper. "He was totally trying to mack on me and then started trying to dig up dirt on Chris because I didn't want none of that shit."

"Why would he dig up dirt on Chris when you rejected his macking?" asked Leo.

"Well, remember the ghostly plane? You gave me a little somthin' somethin' or _someone_ to remember you by," she said pointing a Chris who stared nervously at his shoes not sure how his father would take the news.

"Chris is our son?" asked Leo. Piper nodded. Leo beamed with pride. "Oh yeah! Who's da man?!" said Leo making a raising the roof gesture. "Who's da man!? Well is sure ain't Dan!"

Dan turned green and doubled in futility. "Oh my god, I'm impotent!"

"I think you cast an impotency spell on him," said Chris.

"I thought that Whitelighters can't cast spell," said Piper scratching her head.

"I'm sure there's been an episode or two in this crazy show where that's happened," Leo reasoned.

Darryl walked up to the porch. "I got a call that there was a disturbance here. It has nothing to do with the "D" word, does it?"

"Not the "D" word you think," said Piper. "Remember our old neighbor dan?"

"I have trouble remembering boring things," said Darryl.

"It's alright," said Piper. "He was stalking us so we started beating his ass. Clear case of self-defense."

"Hey, let's kick his ass some more," said Leo. "We'll do it as a family."

"Wow, you're the coolest Dad ever!" said Chris excitedly.

"Hey look at all that snot," said Leo. "Did you beat that out of Dan?" he asked Chris.

"Yep," Chris answered. "It was awesome!"

"I'm so proud of you!" said Leo hugging Chris.

"Thanks, Dad," said Chris.

"Wait," said Darryl. "I thought Elders were against violence. Isn't that some sort of major rule?"

"You know me and rules. I prefer going by instinct and my instincts tell me it's totally cool to open a can of whup-ass on some pointless character who's trying to mack on my wife and diss on my sons."

"Well when you put it that way, can I kick his ass too? We lost my partner (Andy) and got this douche instead."

"Be our guest Darryl, we consider you family after all." said Piper.

"Awe, thanks, guys," said Darryl as he joined the other three in kicking Dan's sorry ass.

Suddenly Prue and Andy appeared out of thin air.

"Prue? Andy? What are you two doing here?" asked Piper.

"This can of whup-ass you opened up on Dan released so positive much energy from all the people who don't like him, it brought me and Andy back to life."

"I'm so happy!" said Piper. "Opening that can of whup-ass was the best thing I ever did, it's bringing my family back together."

"I just wish Wyatt could be here," said Chris. Future Wyatt appeared in a swirl of lights. His hair was short, he was wear pastels and he was clean-shaven, all symbolic signs that he was good.

"Wyatt, you're not evil any more," said Chris.

"It's turns out that seeing Dan's ugly mug in the opening credits of the season two re-runs and having his presence prevent great episodes like Miss Hellfire from being perfect pissed me off so much I turned evil. Seeing that at such a young age really traumatized me and I took out my frustrations on the world, but this can of whup-ass you opened on Dan saved me."

"That's great," said Chris. "C'mon, let's open a can of whup-ass on him Charmed Son's style."

"Alright!" said Piper.

"Don't we have the most wonderful sons ever?" Piper asked Leo.

"It's what I've always dreamed of," said Leo, tears of pride welling in his eyes.

"What's going on out here?" asked Phoebe as she and Paige came out onto the front porch. "I've feel like something wonderful has just happened."

"We opened a can of whup-ass on Dan and it brought Prue and Andy back from the dead and saved Wyatt from turning evil," Piper explained.

"Hooray," said Paige. At that moment a cute police officer walked up to the porch.

"Hi, I'm Henry Mitchell. I hope this doesn't sound too forward, but I felt something so strong and positive compelling me to come here."

"Well, it's nice to meet you." said Phoebe. She shook his hand a had a premonition of Henry fighting with some self-confident witch-lighter over Paige. "Oh myGod Paige, this man is the love of your life."

"Alright!" said Paige as she ran to Henry and they kissed passionately. The positive energy released from the can of whup-ass opened on Dan compelled them to just go with it and that everything would be alright.

At that moment, who should appear out of thin air, but Cole and he was looking goooooood.

"Cole, you're un-vanquished!" said Phoebe.

"Yeah," said Cole. "Apparently there was a can of whup-ass opened on some boring character who never should have been in the opening credits. It released so much positive energy that it awakened you to the fact that you've been dating too many Sears catalog guys who offer nothing for true love. I was freed from limbo and I'm not a demon any more."

"Oh happy day!" said Phoebe jumping into Cole's arms and kissing him.

"What the hell did you do to your hair, Phoebe?" asked Cole.

"It'll grow back," said Phoebe.

At that moment, Barbas flamed in. "Oh I sensed so much fear," said Barbas. He looked at Dan. "Your greatest fear is that you do, in fact suck. Well, there's no illusion to create, since it's true. The rest of you, however, fear that he will re-join the cast."

"NOOOOOO!!!" cried Prue.

Everyone seemed to be Paralyzed with that fear, but Paige can to her senses. She knew that Barbas could be vanquished if everyone could overcome their greatest fear with their greatest desire. 

"Pluto!" she shouted as Dan disappeared in a swirl of orbs. Barbas was vanquished. Patty, Victor, Sheila, and Grams appeared out of thin air thanks to the positive energy released from Paige orbing Dan to Pluto.

"Paige, you saved us," said Prue running and hugging her youngest sister. "I've never been so scared in my whole life. Hey, notice how we both have hot cops as the loves of our lives!"

"Oh yeah!" said Paige high-fiving Prue.

"Looks like everything is as it should be," said Chris.

"C'mon everybody, group hug," said Leo. Everyone hugged and they all lived happily ever after.

THE END  
Just kidding, lol. Happy April Fools Day. 


	6. Chapter 6

**(the real) Chapter Five**

_Okay, Here's the real chapter five. Yes the last one was an April Fools Joke. I just really can't stand Dan. I'm not sure whether I find him or Billie more annoying._**  
**

"Get out!" said Piper.

"You know, not wanting to face the truth won't make it any less real, Piper. What do you think will happen to your kids while you're working nights running your club?"

"I said GET OUT!" Piper shouted.

"Not until you hear me out. You refused to listen to me last time and look where it got you."

"It got me two wonderful children with the man I love."

"I man who left you alone to raise them. Do you really think you can be a great mother in this situation?"

"Wow, you must be some sort of sub-human creature," said Chris, stepping out onto the porch and glaring at Dan. "She gave you some very simple instructions, only two syllables, and you still fail to comprehend."

"Stay out of this, kid," said Dan. "This is between me and Piper."

"Piper just told you to leave," Chris replied coolly.

"Piper keeps screwing up her life and she's going to screw up her children's as well if she keeps going like she is," said Dan in a superior tone.

Chris lost his temper and punched Dan in the face. Dan fell to the ground and stared incredulously at Piper and Chris. Chris stared back in shock. He couldn't believe he'd lost control like the. "I'm so sorry!" Chris said to Piper and hurried back into the house.

"Chris wait," said Piper as she started to follow Chris. Dan stopped her grabbing her arm. "Let go of me!" she spat angrily at her extremely nosy and annoying ex.

"No," said Dan. "I want to know what the story is with that guy."

Piper lost her temper and slapped Dan across the face, surprising him enough to release his grip on her arm. "That's none of you damn business. You stay the hell away from me and leave my family alone. I have a very good cop friend will throw you ass in jail if you don't leave. And stop looking at our confidential records. I'm sure that's some sort of federal offense." Piper stepped into the manor and closed the door. "Chris?" she called. No answer. "Chris, please. You have nothing to be sorry for, Dan was being a jerk." Still, there was no answer. "Damn it, Dan, I swear if you've ruined everything I've built up with my son I'll blow your ass to pieces."

"Piper, what's going on?" asked Paige as she came down the stairs followed by Phoebe. In response Piper merely sat on the couch and buried her face in her hands. Her sisters walked over to her and sat on either side.

"Sweetie, what happened," asked Phoebe.

"Oh, Dan just ruined everything I've worked to build up with Chris all this time. I'm gonna kick his ass."

"How could Dan do that?" asked Paige.

"He was just sticking his nose where it doesn't belong. Apparently he decided to do some research on our favorite neurotic White Lighter and found out he doesn't exist. He decided to lecture me about how he was right about Leo," Piper let out a derisive snort. "And called my children 'spawn."

"He didn't!" Phoebe gasped.

"Oh yeah, he did," said Piper dryly. "Anyway, the shouting woke up Chris and he ended up punching Dan in the face."

"Good for him," said Paige proudly.

"I agree," said Piper. "Chris, on the other hand seems to think it's something to feel guilty about. He must have orbed out. He's not answering my calls."

"I'll talk to him," said Paige. She stood up, walked past the anti-orbing barrier, and orbed out.

"Leo," said Gideon sternly as Leo suddenly stood up and headed toward the door. "You need to focus on your meditations."

"Piper's in pain," said Leo. "I can feel it."

"We've been through this before, Leo. You're an Elder now. You have to let Piper go, for the Greater Good."

Leo bit back the overwhelming urge to ask what the hell the Greater Good was. "Something's going on, I can't ignore it."

Gideon couldn't allow Leo to find out that Piper was Pregnant. He wasn't sure if Leo was the father or if it was one of the men Piper dated. Whoever the father was, Gideon knew he couldn't let Leo find out about the baby. Gideon found it odd that neither he nor any of the other Elders had sensed the presence of a new Halliwell, but counted it as a stroke of luck in his plan to go after Wyatt. Perhaps the day Piper went into labor would be the perfect time. Phoebe and Paige would be sufficiently distracted with concern for their sister, and knowing Chris, it would be easy to distract him with a demonic lead.

"Chris is the Charmed Ones' White Lighter now, Leo-" Gideon began.

"He's a perfectly capable White Lighter," said Leo. "But the kid's got some emotional baggage of his own to deal with." Leo thought of the conversation he had with Chris in the attic the day Phoebe was turned into a genie. For reasons he couldn't understand, that conversation was on his mind quite a bit. "I was married to Piper, we have a son together. That kind of bond just doesn't go away."

"Of course it can't go away," said Gideon. "But you must learn to control your emotions, not allow them to control you. Piper still has her sisters. They aren't just any sisters, they are the Charmed Ones; there is no stronger bond."

"I suppose you're right," Leo relented. He sat one the floor, closed his eyes and concentrated on clearing his mind. Gideon muttered a spell as a golden light emitted from his fingers and engulfed Leo, leaving the younger Elder feeling and empty content.

_It's for the greater good,_ Gideon told himself.

"Everything is falling into place," said Alpha to Beta and Gamma.

"Are you certain this will work?" asked Gamma. "We are banking an awful lot on Piper and Leo's second son."

"Precisely," said Alpha. "He is the key to everything. Future Chris being here now will help us succeed where we failed last time with our plan. He has been the key all along. All Chris knows is that his father wasn't there for him in the future. He has no idea that Leo was under our spell or that we sent the demon to kill his mother. Leo will be distraught to learn that he neglected his son, he will be determined to make things right. Chris will eventually forgive him. The boy has always longed for his father's acceptance. When the time is right, his old mentor will kill his son. The devastation will push Leo over the edge and he will be ready to join us. Piper's greatest fear is dying young and leaving her children as orphans. As secretive as he is about the future, Chris will eventually break down. With the Elder and the Charmed Ones on our side, we will finally have the power to bring about Utopia."

"And what about Wyatt?" asked Beta. "He nearly destroyed us in the other timeline."

"With Chris here," said Alpha. "Leo will learned about Gideon's plan in time to save Wyatt from turning evil. When he learns of what he was in the alternate future, he will feel so guilt ridden, that he will do anything to make it right. With his power added to the Collective, we will be able to maintain Utopia for all time."

"Chris?" Paige called as she knocked on the door of the back office at P3. The Music of the All American Rejects blasted throughout the club. She heard some rustling of papers, hesitated for a moment and opened the door. Chris was sitting at the desk staring at some charts, his right elbow on the desk with his forehead resting on his palm and his left index finger anxiously tapping an open book. Paige had the feeling that Chris wasn't taking in the information. "Your mother's worried sick about you," said Paige.

"There's nothing to worry about, I'm fine," Chris answered in a voice barely above a whisper. Paige walked to the desk and pulled the papers out from under Chris. "Hey I was looking at those!"

"Maybe," said Paige. "But you're obviously exhausted and it's too noisy here to concentrate. Why don't you come back to the manor and finish that nice refreshing nap you were taking before Bland Dan rudely interrupted you."

"I don't need a nap. I need to figure out who's after Wyatt and get the hell back to the future!" said Chris reaching for the charts in Paige's hand. She pulled them further from his reach.

"Has anyone ever told you you're a royal pain in the ass?" asked Paige.

"Not yet today," said Chris dryly. "I'm trying my best not to be a Royal Pain in the ass. I've been failing pretty miserably lately."

"If you're referring to Dan, you did you mother a favor, believe me."

"I'm not referring to Dan, not really," said Chris as he stared at a corner of the desk. Paige thought she could see him blinking away tears. She crouched beside him and squeezed his hand.

"What are you referring to, Chris?" she asked gently. Chris closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Paige had a sudden urge to yell for Leo. Though pride and anger would never allow him to admit it, at that moment Chris really needed his father. He never understood his father growing up, but always longed for his approval.

_"Chris?" said Leo lightly knocking on the bedroom door. The ten-yea- old boy reposed in his bed with his back to his father pretending to be asleep. Leo sighed and walked over to the bed. He watched his thoughtfully, sat on the edge of the bed and put his hand gently on Chris's shoulder. The boy tensed at his father's touch._

_"Leave me alone," said Chris, not turning around. He tried to shrug off Leo's hand._

_"Chris, I'm sorry--"_

_"Yeah, you always are. Why don't you just put it in another stupid letter like you always do? I'm tired."_

_"Chris, please let's talk about this," Leo pleaded._

_"Talk about what?" asked Chris as he turned around and sat up to face his father. "You don't know me, you don't care about me, you don't love me; it's that simple really."_

_Leo stared at his son in shock. How could his little boy think he didn't love him? He adored Chris; his younger son meant everything to him. Leo placed a hand on each of Chris's shoulders. "Chris, don't ever think that I don't love you. You mean the world to me." Chris started laughing._

_"I'm not stupid you know, Dad. You don't have to lie. You love Wyatt, I'm just extra baggage."_

_"Chris I'm not lying, how could you think that?"_

_"Well, let's see: if Wyatt needs you for the tiniest thing, you're right there. Whenever _I _need you, you always tell me you don't have the time and write some lame apology later." Tears started pouring down Chris's face._

_"Chris, believe me, I don't mean to do these things. It's just that something unavoidable always comes up. It's been some really bad luck."_

_"Oh please," Chris snorted. "You being too busy for me once or twice is bad luck. You never having the time for me when I need is pure apathy."_

_Leo stared. The calls from his bosses with unavoidable urgent matters did have a tendency to come whenever he was about to spend quality time with Chris. Had it really happened every single time? Leo pulled Chris into a hug. The boy struggled to escape his father's grasp at first, but soon relented. Chris began to sob on Leo's shoulder. Leo began to rock Chris slowly and caress his son's hair as he whispered 'I'm so sorry' over and over again. _

_He tried to ignore the jingle in his head as the other elders called him. _Not now, _he thought angrily. The jingling became louder with each passing moment. "Whatever it is, it can wait!" Leo shouted at the ceiling causing Chris to jump. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, Buddy. The other Elders are calling." Chris's face-hardened._

_"So go see what they want, I'm sure it's important," Chris spat angrily._

_"Chris, I don't want to leave you like this," said Leo. The jingling became more pronounced. Leo had been warned several times that if his family life interfered with his duties as an Elder he'd be forbidden to see them again. "I'm sorry I have to go. We'll talk about this later, I promise." Leo leaned over, kissed his son on the forehead and orbed out._

_"I'll look forward to the letter," Chris muttered._

"Fine," said Chris to Paige. "I'll take a damn nap." He walked over to the couch and stretched out on it. Paige sat in the chair across from him and folded her hands in her lap. "What are you doing, Paige?"

"Making sure you really do go to sleep," Paige answered lightly.

"What, you don't trust me to take a nap?"

Paige smiled. "Take your time kiddo. I don't have a temp job to get to and maybe the reason for that is to make sure you get some rest. I've got all day."

Chris rolled his eyes and closed them. After about twenty minutes Paige noticed a change in the rhythm of his breathing. She muttered a spell to put him in a deep sleep for the night and orbed back to the manor.

"Does Chris know you're washing his clothes?" Phoebe asked Piper.

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him," said Piper. "Besides I need something to do."

Phoebe noticed a dark blue shirt with black sleeves. "I think this is the shirt he was wearing the day he was warning us about putting our personal lives before out Wiccan duties, or whatever he called it. Remember?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"Sometimes he really reminds me of Prue," said Phoebe.

"Me too," said Piper. "And that scares me. Prue got herself killed, and Chris damn near got himself killed saving us from Gith. He's come close to getting himself killed so many times."

Paige orbed in. "He's asleep," she reported. "I put a little spell on him to make sure he sleeps through the night."

"Good," said Piper. Phoebe picked up Chris's blue shirt and was pulled into a premonition. "Phoebe, what is it?" Piper asked in a panicked voice.

"We have to get to P3. I saw a demon standing over Chris with a fireball."

Paige grabbed her sisters' hands and orbed them to the back room of P3. When they got there, sure enough, a demon was standing over a sleeping Chris holding an energy ball. Piper froze him and unfroze his head.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she asked the demon.

"Taking out a pest," the demon replied. "This kid has been taking out my clan and sending the Charmed Ones after my allies. Killing him will give me the glory I deserve."

"You won't get that chance," said Piper. "Paige!"

"Fireball!" said Paige as she orbed the demon's deadly weapon back to him, turning him into a pile of ashes.

"Let's get him back to the Manor," said Piper.

Chris woke early the next morning in his mother's bed. It took him a moment to realize where he was. Chris didn't care how he got there. All he knew was that he had work to do. Chris tried to orb out, but felt a painful electric jolt. He rematerialized on the bed. He looked around and realized he was in a Crystal cage.

"Well, good morning, Sleepy head," said Piper as she entered the room carrying a food tray.

"Um Piper, why am I in a Crystal cage?"

"A demon tried to kill you while you were asleep. We vanquished his sorry ass, but figured you'd still be safer here."

"A demon tried to kill me? Did he by any chance have bleach blonde hair?"

"He did as a matter of fact, why?"

"Then there's nothing else to worry about. He works alone. Could you let me out of this cage? I have work to do."

In response Piper pointed to her dresser. "We brought your charts over from the club and the Book of Shadows is here for you as well." Chris opened his mouth to protest, but Piper held up her hand to silence him. "No more excuses, Chris. We almost lost you twice yesterday. You're staying here today." Piper headed out of the room. As she reached the door she turned around and said, "You're so much like your Aunt Prue, it scares me. I'll be damned if I let you end up like her. You're not doing everything by yourself anymore, Chris."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Six**

Piper walked down the stairs to see the Manor foyer plastered with baby shower decorations.

"What do ya think?" asked Phoebe.

"Everything looks perfect," said Piper. She sighed. "I just wish the baby wasn't constantly disappearing to the Underworld.

"He'll be fine," Phoebe reassured Piper. "He's got plenty of future knowledge to help him know where any real danger is."

"I suppose, but I still can't help worrying." Piper looked around at all the decorations. "Paige really went overboard again, didn't she?"

"Nothing's too good for that neurotic little nephew of mine," said Paige and she walked in through the kitchen. The doorbell rang. "I'll get it." Paige opened the door. Darryl and Sheila stood there holding several trays of food. "Thanks for picking this up. You guys are life savers."

"Any time," said Darryl. "I'll see you all later. Gotta get back to work." He kissed Sheila goodbye and left.

"This is so amazing," said Sheila as she and Paige began organizing the Deli trays. "I can't believe Chris is your son. Although in retrospect, it makes perfect sense."

"I certainly does," said Piper wistfully.

"He looks a lot like you," Sheila commented.

"Yeah, and he acts a lot like Prue," said Piper.

"Does he?" asked Paige. She had never met her oldest sister, but never stopped wondering what it would be like to meet her.

"Yep," said Piper. "Prue was all about Duty and Obligation. That and she felt it was her job to protect everyone else."

"Piper, are you alright?" asked Sheila.

"Yeah," Piper answered. "I'm fine. It's just…well it's not exactly normal for an expecting mother to have her baby constantly going under cover in the underworld trying to save his older brother.

"Scabbar Demons," Chris muttered as he flipped through the Book of Shadows. "Shit." Chris wasn't happy about going under cover with demons who spit green acid that turned living beings to dust and he certainly had no intention of telling his mother and aunts what he was doing, but he had to do it. Time was running short and Chris felt as though he was no closer to finding whoever was after Wyatt. Well the entire Underworld had been after Wyatt since before he was born, it was just a matter of figuring who succeeded.

Chris decided to check on Wyatt before going underground. The reminder of what Chris was fighting for gave him the extra bit of courage he needed to do what he had to do. Chris tiptoed down to the second floor. He could hear laughter coming from the main foyer. Spending several weeks trying to get his parents to conceive was certainly a strange experience. While having Phoebe ask him what he thought of the party streamers wasn't quite in the same ballpark, it was definitely awkward. Chris sighed as he stepped into Wyatt's room. The toddler version of his older brother looked up and grinned at Chris.

"Ba ba," said Wyatt.

"Hungry?" asked Chris. He really didn't want to run into any of the party guests, but couldn't let Wyatt go hungry. He closed his eyes and tried to sense for anyone in the kitchen. It was empty. "C'mon, moonbeam, let's get you something to eat."

Chris couldn't help but smirk as he lifted Wyatt out of the crib and orbed to the kitchen. He now knew what their father had started calling Wyatt Moonbeam. Wyatt liked to tease Chris about their mother calling him Peanut, Chris got equal mileage with their father calling Wyatt Moonbeam. He wondering if Wyatt would remember Leo calling him moonbeam or remember him at all this time around.

"Aren't you sweet?" Chris jumped at the woman's voice and looked around to see a woman in her late thirties to early forties with bleach blonde hair, bright pink lipstick, and heavy eyeliner that all contrasted horribly with her fake tan. Her too tight tank top and spandex pants made Chris wonder what she was doing at the party. She certainly wasn't the type of woman his mother had as a friend. Phoebe and Paige must've gone overboard of the guest list.

"I'm just lending Piper a hand," said Chris.

"I'm Brandi," said the bleach blonde.

"I'm a distant, down on his luck relative who's not from around here," said Chris as he handed Wyatt some crackers.

"Oh you poor dear," said Brandi as she began to rub Chris's shoulders. "If you need money, I could give you some work to do at my house," she whispered a little too close to his ear for his comfort. Chris shuddered.

"Not interested," said Chris shortly. He pulled out of Brandi's grasp and turned toward her. "Please leave me alone."

"And they say women play hard to get," said Brandi, clearly not getting the fact that Chris wasn't interested in her. She put her arms around his neck and tried to kiss him.

"Knock it off!" Chris shouted angrily.

"Hey, get your slutty hands off him!" said Piper who had just entered the kitchen.

"Oh lighten up, Piper," said Brandi. "He's an adult, he can make up his own mind."

"I just did, get your hands off me," said Chris. He had a strong urge to orb out of there.

"Oh you're so adorably coy," said Brandi. Piper lost her temper and froze the over aged Britney Spears. She grabbed Chris's sleeve and pulled him away from Brandi. He had to duck out from under her arm.

"Tacky, slutty woman thinks she can put the moves on my son, I'll show her bleached ass," Piper muttered. She grabbed a fist full of some beetle ears from the cupboard and dumped them on Brandi's head.

"Piper, what are you doing?" asked Phoebe and she entered the kitchen followed by Paige and Sheila. "You can't dump beetle ears over and innocent.

"Oh relax, will ya? They're expired," said Piper.

"Okay," said Phoebe. "Why did you freeze her?"

"She wouldn't take her slutty hands off Chris. Why did you invite her anyway?"

"She was on the Mommy and Me list," said Phoebe.

"She was hitting on you, Chris?" asked Paige. Chris felt his face turn red. This wasn't the sort of thing he wanted to discuss with his mother and aunts.

"Can we just forget this ever happened?" said Chris.

"I think we need to teach Mrs. Robinson here a lesson," said Paige. "Beetle ears aren't enough."

"C'mon, you guys," said Phoebe. We're not supposed to use our magic to punish the guilty."

"That's rich, Phoebe," said Paige. "Turn any sexist competitors into pigs lately? If it makes you feel better, I'll use the _Leftover Pudding!" _Paige orbed the pudding to her self and dumped it on Brandi's head.

"A woman comes to a baby and hits on the baby. That's just wrong on every level," said Sheila. She looked at the punch in her hand, shrugged and dumped it on Brandi's head. Chris buried his face in his hands. If his mother hadn't caught a woman twice his age hitting on him and there wasn't the possibility of magic being exposed over the situation, he would've found it all very funny. Wyatt giggled and clapped next to him.

"Okay, this is all very amusing and all, but how are we going to keep magic from being exposed here?" asked Chris.

"No problem," said Paige. She grabbed Brandi and lowered her to the floor. "Okay, Piper un-freeze her."

Piper waived her hand to un-freeze Brandi. "What the hell happened?" asked Brandi.

"A bowl fell on your head, knocked you out, very messy," said Piper.

"Yeah," said Paige. "We'd offer you a towel, but we're fresh out."

Brandi huffed and left.

"Need help cleaning up?" asked Sheila.

"That'd be great," said Phoebe. Phoebe, Paige, and Sheila left the kitchen, leaving Piper alone with her two sons.

Piper watched Chris thoughtfully. He shifted uncomfortably under her gaze and grabbed a broom to clean up the mess his mother and aunts had made.

"You need a haircut," said Piper. She pointed to a stool near the sink.   
"Sit!" she ordered.

"I have this new lead I need to work on," said Chris. "I really have to get going."

He started to orb out. Piper used her freezing power to stop his orbing ability. Chris looked at her incredulously. "Wow, it actually worked," said Piper.

"How did you do that?" asked Chris.

"My freezing power may not work on other witches, but it does on white lighters. I figured it might work on your white lighter powers. What do ya know, I was right. Now sit down."

"Piper, I really have to go, would you please unfreeze my powers?"

"Look Chris, I'm almost in my third trimester, very hormonal, and I just witnessed some slut bag hitting on the very child I'm carrying. I need to do something to bring a little order to this chaos. Cutting you hair will bring me a piece of mind, now _sit down!_"

Chris stared at his mother for a moment at a loss for words. He decided to surrender and took a seat on the stool by the sink. Piper grabbed a towel, a comb and a pair of scissors. She draped the towel over Chris's shoulders and gently pushed his so his head was over the sink. She soaked his hair with the cold water and ran a comb through it.

"You've let your hair get pretty long. When was the last time you cut it?" asked Piper. Chris shrugged.

"It hasn't been a priority," he replied.

Chris stared blankly at the corner of the counter. Piper decided to try a strategy of asked vague questions. "So what's your favorite color?" she asked as she began trimming his untidy locks.

"You'll find out in a couple years," he answered.

"Alright…What do you want to do with your life once you get back to the future?"

"I haven't ever really given it much thought," Chris answered stoically. It broke Piper's heart to hear Chris say that. She thought about all the times she'd longed for a "normal" life. For a while she'd gone to far as to date Dan instead of trying to make her relationship with Leo work. Compared to the life Chris must have had, Piper's life had been a walk in the park, even with losing Prue and fighting to stay with Leo. She pulled Chris into a hug. He didn't stiffen or pull away, but he didn't exactly return the hug. Instead he continued to state at the counter blankly.

"Chris, I have no idea what happened to you in your future, but I promise I'll do everything I can to give you a nice childhood."

Chris closed his eyes. He said nothing. Piper pulled out of the hug and looked at her grown son. He remained determinedly still. She ran her hand over the newly finished haircut. "Aw that's much better. You have a nice face, it's good to finally see it."

"So you're done? Can I go now?" asked Chris. He opened his eyes and continued staring at the counter.

"Chris, what's wrong? Why won't you talk to me?" Piper asked as she caressed his cheek.

"I really have to work on that lead," said Chris. He stood up, pulled the towel off his shoulders and dropped it on the floor in a single motion as he headed out of the kitchen.

"Chris, please talk to me," Piper begged. Chris stopped at the door, turned around and looked at his mother. He walked toward her stopped, picked the towel up off the floor and handed it to her.

"Sorry," he said and orbed out.

Piper looked thoughtfully at the towel. "It's a start," she said to Wyatt who looked at her curiously. She opened a drawer, pulled out a zip lock bag and shook the loose hairs into it to keep in case she needed to scry for Chris or use them in a potion to find him at some point. She then picked up the phone.

"Victor Bennet," her father answered.

"Dad, are you coming to town soon?" asked Piper.

"I'll be there in a couple weeks, why?"

"Think you could stop by the manor? I really need you help with something."

"Is anything wrong, Honey?"

"Not exactly. I explain everything when you get here. So, I'll see you in a couple weeks?"

"Absolutely. I love you, Piper."

"I love you too, Dad."


End file.
